The Fifth China International Tea Expo, a five-day event, concluded in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on May 24. This year’s expo was a real hit as it saw a boom in exhibitions and sales at both online and brick-and-mortar operations. As of May 23, 116.13 tons of tea have been sold on-site, reaching 144 million yuan in terms of sales revenue. A total of 9,462 orders have been placed, amounting to 7,719 tons of sales volume and 3.166 billion yuan of revenue. 

Tang Ke, Secretary General of the Organizing Committee of the International Tea Expo and Director-General of the Department of Market and Informatization of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), said that this year’s expo, under the theme of “Tea and the World Share Development”, fully demonstrated China’s achievements in the tea industry. The unprecedentedly grand expo highlighted the features of the times, showcased the vivid practices and bright prospects for high-quality development of China’s tea industry, and provided a strong synergy for boosting the tea industry. 

Nearly 900 Chinese and foreign tea companies participated in this year’s expo. More than 10,000 tea products were displayed, attracting over 4,200 professional buyers and 121,000 visitors. During the expo, over 80 brand promotions were also held, mainly promoting the first group of eight premium tea brands developed by MARA, and 50 best-selling online products and 100 products in brick-and-mortar stores. In addition, a number of forums were held simultaneously in Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province, and Ankang of Shaanxi Province, including the Fifth Summit Forum of Tea Talk by West Lake& “International Tea Day” 2023 China Celebrations. The “Tea Industry Brain” of Zhejiang was also launched. Furthermore, the Report on Green and Low-Carbon Development of the Tea Industry and the Technical Specifications for Ecological Low-Carbon Tea Production were issued and the list of the first group of 51 companies certified for their low-carbon tea products was released. The expo also unveiled 40 tea town tourist itineraries, 30 tea towns with distinctive features, and 20 typical cases exemplifying the integrated development of the tea culture, tea industry and tea technology.  

A special website was also set up for this year’s expo, as well as a special exhibition area for “Digital Technologies, New Generation & New Tea Drinks.” Online live streamed activities were held to promote tea products, which attracted more than 16 million online visitors and achieved sales revenue of 5.5 million yuan.